


Early Morning Conversations

by BlueMorpho (caacrinolaas)



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Autistic Keith (Voltron), Crying Keith (Voltron), Gen, Humor, Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, Late Night Conversations, Mentions of Other Voltron Paladins, References to Drugs, References to bullying, holy crap that's a tag? i love you guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-29 10:32:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19018114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caacrinolaas/pseuds/BlueMorpho
Summary: Pidge's nonexistent sleeping schedule is borderline shameful, but sometimes good came from it. Usually by staying up late enough to meet the early birds.BTHB: Undeserved Reputation





	Early Morning Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of scrappy and not proofread but goddammit, I just want them to _talk_. They aren't similar at all but they sure parallel each other a lot 
> 
> Gonna be real with you... I know nothing about the Atlas, I tuned out the entire show after Keith was aged up (except for the select things I liked). Everything about the layout and setting is pure guesswork

Even through the rumbling of the Atlas, Pidge could hear as footsteps grew closer down the hall into their lounge area. The girl didn't care, though, continuing to type away on her laptop. She already had a bank of scripted excuses for whenever Shiro cornered her into sleeping. 

The footsteps seemed to be moving passed her, but stopped a few feet away from where she was leaning back on the couch. There was silence for a few seconds before it was broken by a familiar, not-Shiro-or-other-parental-figure voice. 

"Hey Pidge." Keith slid up and over the couch to sit next to her while leaving a sizable gap between the two of them. 

"'Sup?" 

"I thought Shiro had finally convinced you do go to bed earlier." His voice was unusually thick which Pidge brushed off as tiredness. It was currently four in the morning and anyone not adapted to all nighters would be tired at this hour. 

Pidge continued typing as a sly smirk slid onto her face. “I did, but I cheated the system. I already slept, so I can avoid Shiro’s wrath if I wake up really, really early.” 

At first she didnt recieve a response, so she looked over to see that she was recieving a tired version of the ‘Shiro is Disapproving of Your Life Decisions’ look. She should've known. Keith has mellowed enough to be halfway between Shiro and Allura and that means three adversaries in her terrible sleeping habits. 

Once she looked down again, she had a double take and glanced up at his face again, what she saw making her blink in surprise. His eyes were red and puffy, but they were also doing the weird alien thing that started recently where they got a slight yellow glow in the dark. It was a strange color combination to see on someone's eyes. 

“Oh my god. Are you okay?” 

“Not really, why?” 

"I don’t mean any offense by saying this, but you actually look like you snorted cocaine."

“Maybe I did. You dont know me.”

“At four in the morning? In your shared dorm?” 

“Come on, Pidge, we all know that parties are al-always…” Keith cut himself off in a yawn, “always bring out the hardest stuff at four AM.” 

“Okay, but seriously,” Pidge glanced over at him again, “you actually look like shit. Do you have allergies?”

“Uh... no.” 

"Are you sick?" 

"No..." 

"You're lying." Pidge turned her laptop so she could face him properly. "I know you are because you're like Shiro with the whole 'I'm a leader so I can't be sick ever' thing." 

"No, seriously, I'm not sick." He didn't sound defensive, just resigned. Based on that alone, and considering how horrible of a liar he is, he's probably not denying anything. 

A small stretch of silence passed over the two of them. She could barely make out another set of footsteps from one of the wings, but they eventually receded. Probably a bathroom trip. 

Pidge's brows furrowed as her gaze was directed down at her laptop again, not actually looking at what was on the screen. Next to her, Keith was valiantly trying and failing not to sniff. If he's not sick, then... 

"You've been crying." She pointed a look at Keith, whose eyes narrowed but didn't protest what her conclusion. "If not, you're pretty damned close to it. Want me to get tissues?" 

"No, I'm good. I was actually... uh, nevermind. Just don't tell anybody, okay?" 

Pidge nodded. While part of her wanted to run and grab Shiro or Krolia, she understood _very well_ that doing so would be an instant friendship ruiner. "So... You wanna talk about it...?" 

"I dunno." 

"Is there anything, y'know... specific?" She twirled her hand slightly for emphasis. "That's bothering you?" 

"Not really." 

This was getting nowhere, but she should've expected Keith's usual 'five words or less' sentence structure. At least he hasn't gotten up and left in the huffy manner he would have when he was few years younger. 

Keith was obviously not going to spill his guts on his own, like Lance does. But he didn't tell her to not pry until he did, though, so she decided it's time to harness her inner Hunk. 

"Okay, then, if you're not gonna be specific then I'm gonna have to start a lightning round. Get it, because my bayard shocks people." That got Pidge another tired glare, which only made her grin in return. The smile slid off her face as she continued. "And, like, just for the record, if it's a person then I will definitely shock them with my bayard while it's set on lethal levels of voltage." 

"That'd be funny." And that's where Keith is decidedly not like Shiro or Allura. "But it's not." 

"Then..." Now that she was interrogating him, Pidge found herself stumped on potential reasons. "Is it stress?" 

"No way. Me? Stressed?" He said dryly. "We're in a war, Pidge, you know better than anyone else it's impossible to be stressed on the front lines." 

"Okay smartass, I'm just trying to get the basic picture." She fiddled with her glasses. "Is it the Garrison?" 

"Wow, that was fast." 

"It's the Garrison? What is it about the Garrison?" She began to speak rapidly out of worry. "Are people harassing you about the whole galra thing again? That bayard threat wasn't a joke." 

"No. I mean..." He sighed before finally turning towards her. There was several moments where he didn't speak, looking as if he was contemplating how much he wanted to say. "I guess I was just... never happy here? People never liked me very much and I've always had a hard time making friends. Being in space was great, because, I could leave that behind, especially in the Blade of Marmora. The reputation I've always had that prevented me from being friends with anyone but Shiro." 

Oh, wow, that was a huge bundle of new information Pidge didn't know what to do with. That was also a new word count record for how much he's said at one time. 

"What do you mean reputation?" 

"Being aggressive. A giant asshole." Keith's voice was tinged with frustration as he said that and he started to rub the fabric of his nightshirt. "I mean, I know I kinda was, but I feel like I grew to fit a role I was given and wasn't actually, you know, that?" 

Yea, hearing Keith actually talking about his problems is definitely the biggest life plot twist Pidge has ever experienced. Actually, that's not true, if Shiro finally got therapy that would take first place in surprising turn of events. But this would still be a close second. 

Pidge gave an affirmative sound to let him know she was listening, but he didn't continue. She vaguely wondered what magic words she had said to unleash the floodgates. 

"I know what you mean. Well, I haven't been through your exact situation of course. But I kinda get it." She set aside her laptop and tucked up her knees against her chest. "Before the Garrison, people would always call me passive and shy. And they would use that as an excuse to not punish my bullies, like, 'oh, he's just trying to get a rise out of you' or 'oh just ignore him', so I ended up actually becoming passive because I was always told to be that way." 

He scoffed, shooting her a small smile. "You? Passive and shy?" 

She smiled back. "Kind of unbelievable, right?" 

Keith didn't end up leaving after the conversation tapered out, but he eventually fell asleep after around an hour of quiet companionship. Thank god he doesn't snore, or she wouldn't have been able to continue working. 

Pidge, however, did not fall asleep, her mind was filled with whirling thoughts on the conversation that took place. She knew most people's opinions of him were far exaggerated, but it hadn't occurred to her how much those words had actually affected and been used against him. Based on what he said, this was likely going on even before the Garrison. 

The thing that upset her the most, though, was that it took an entire year and a war for him to tell anybody that. 

It was another hour before Shiro marched in, and another thirty minutes for Pidge to wring out Hunk for being a snitch. Despite the drama, though, she kept quiet about what had been talked about. She just hoped that Keith knew now that he had another person to confide in.


End file.
